THE son of a missing Lisburn woman has made an impassioned plea for her to come home, saying she is “very much loved”.
Mother-of-three Paula Elliott (52) was last seen on Tuesday March 5, driving a red Citroen C4 along the Hillsborough Road in the city before parking it beside the Lagan Towpath.
Speaking to The Irish News, her 31-year-old son Stefin Elliott spoke of his family’s intense worry as they await news of his mother.
He said the family, including his brother Curtis (26) and 17-year-old Sophia are holding on to hope that Paula is alive more than three weeks after she went missing.
Referring to searches along the Towpath, he said: “I have thought of the worst outcome, and I went down to the river expecting to face that terrible possibility.
“But as time goes on I’m holding onto the last string of hope that she is out there somewhere alive.
“If that’s the case and she sees this, I just want say mum, you are so very much loved, and we want you to come home.”
Stefin said they are “waiting and praying” for positive news, and he praised members of the community who have joined in searches in the Lisburn area.
“It’s not until something like this happens to your family that you realise there are people out there to really want to help and support you. I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart, and also the search and rescue teams and police who are working daily to find my mum.”
He added:” Please if anyone else knows anything, just come forward. One small bit of information can snowball into something bigger and help us find her and bring her home.”
Meanwhile, Paula’s brother David Birney (45) said it had been an especially difficult time after the sudden death of his 26-year-old son Reece at his home in Culcavy last May.
“I’m still mourning my son and I’m only managing to get my head around that. I only got the coroner’s report the other day, I haven’t even read it because at the end the day there’s no bringing him back,” he said.
“At least with my sister there’s a high possibility we will bring her back.
“It’s a cruel world we live in. You have to suck it up or let it destroy you.”
He describes his sister as having been in low spirits, but is not yet convinced she would have taken her own life.
“It seems to be the police are focusing on the river because her car was there and her belongings were in the car,” he said.
“There are other lines of inquiry which I can’t really go into because it might affect the case.
“Personally, I don’t know much. If I was honest, there’s as much evidence now as there was on the day she went missing.
“There’s not really much CCTV footage. Where she left the car was very secluded. If she had gone in by the other side of the gate, she would have had to go in via the Lagan Valley Hospital where the cameras would have picked her up.
“The police are giving us updates and renewing the appeals, but at the moment they’re the same as the weeks before.”
Describing the wait for updates as “soul-destroying,” he added: “I’ve always said that if I could deal with losing my son, I could deal with anything in life.
“But not knowing, as each days goes on it just grinds you down. It exhausts you physically and emotionally.”
Another concern is the impact on his elderly parents.
“My sister kept herself to herself. She was helping my mum with my dad who isn’t too well after having two strokes during lockdown.
“I wouldn’t say she had mental health issues, but she was just down.
“She wouldn’t have been a party girl or a sociable drinker. I would say she was just stuck in a rut.
Mr Birney said he is still holding on to hope his sister can be found safe and well.
“Her intentions could have been that she didn’t want to be here, but I don’t think she was able to carry out her intentions,” he said.
“There’s always that ‘what if’ and small possibility, that’s the way I’m looking at it.”
